Hasidim

Hasidim

Hasidim/Chasidim (Hebrew: חסידים‎) is the plural of Hasid (חסיד), meaning "pious". The honorific "Hasid" was frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. In classic Rabbinic literature it differs from "Tzadik"-"righteous", by instead denoting one who goes beyond the legal requirements of ritual and ethical Jewish observance in daily life. The literal meaning of "Hasid" derives from Chesed-"kindness", the outward expression of love of God and other people. This spiritual devotion motivates pious conduct beyond everyday limits. The devotional nature of its description lent itself to a few Jewish movements in history being known as "Hasidim". Two of these derived from the Jewish mystical tradition, as it could tend towards piety over legalism.

As a personal honorific, both "Hasid" and "Tzadik" could be applied independently to a same individual with both different qualities. The 18th-century Vilna Gaon, for instance, while the head of Rabbinic opposition to the new Jewish mystical movement that itself became known as "Hasidism", was renowned for his righteous life. His scholarship became popularly honored with the formal title of "Genius", while amongst the Hasidic movement's leadership, despite his fierce opposition, he was respecfully referred to as "The Gaon, the Hasid from Vilna".

In the aggregate, it may refer to members of any of the following Jewish movements:

  • Hasidic Judaism, the popular following, mystical revival movement of 18th century Eastern Europe until today
  • Hasideans, pietists or "Jewish Puritans" of the Maccabean period, around the 2nd century BCE
  • Chassidei Ashkenaz, ascetic German mystical-ethical pietists of the 12th and 13th centuries

See also


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  • ḤASIDIM — (Heb. חֲסִידִים, pietists ), term used in rabbinic literature to designate those who maintained a higher standard in observing the religious and moral commandments. The various definitions in rabbinic literature of the ḥasid, and the more… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Hasidim — [has′ə dim΄, has′ədēm΄, ha sid′im, hasēd′im; ] Heb [ khä΄sē dēm′] pl.n. sing. Hasid [has′id; ] Heb [ khä sēd′] the members of a sect of Jewish mystics that originated in Poland in the 18th cent. and that emphasizes joyful worship of an immanent… …   Universalium

  • hasidim — HASIDÍM, Ă adj., s. m. f. (adept) al hasidismului. (< fr. hassidim) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • Hasidim — also Chasidim, 1812, adherents of a conservative Jewish religious movement founded 1750 by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer Baal Shem Tobh, from Heb. hasidhim, lit. pious ones, pl. of hasidh kind, pious. Earlier used in Hebrew of adherents of an anti… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Hasidim — [has′ə dim΄, has′ədēm΄, ha sid′im, hasēd′im; ] Heb [ khä΄sē dēm′] pl.n. sing. Hasid [has′id; ] Heb [ khä sēd′] the members of a sect of Jewish mystics that originated in Poland in the 18th cent. and that emphasizes joyful worship of an immanent… …   English World dictionary

  • *hasidim — ● hassidim ou hasidim nom masculin pluriel (hébreu hasid, pieux) Membres d un groupe religieux juif refusant l hellénisation d Antiochos IV Épiphane et qui appuyèrent la révolte des Maccabées. Membres du hassidisme médiéval et contemporain. ●… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Hasidim — ( THE PIOUS )    A religious movement founded by Israel Baal Shem Tov around 1735. He was not a rabbi but journeyed widely as an itinerant preacher and proclaimed a philosophy of faith, love, and joy. His preaching was both widely acclaimed and… …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

  • Hasidim — Persons characterized by hesed, loyalty, especially to God, in the community of the faithful. They are ‘the holy ones in the land’ (Ps. 16:3, NRSV), ‘his faithful ones’ (Ps. 30:4; Prov. 2:8, NRSV). At one time the fact of belonging to the people… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • ḤASIDIM, SEFER — (Heb. סֵפֶר חֲסִידִים, Book of the Pious ), major work in the field of ethics, produced by the Jews of medieval Germany. It comprises the ethical teachings of the movement in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Two versions of the book have… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • hasidim — n. member of a mystical Jewish sect founded in 18th century Poland by Baal Shem Tov …   English contemporary dictionary

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